Monday, May 31, 2010

Gullickson Captures Tennis Title

TENNIS

Sophomore Chelsey Gullickson captured the NCAA singles championship with a 6-3,7-6(7) win over California’s Jana Juricova Monday at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex.

Gullickson’s road to the national championship featured six wins including over top-ranked Irina Falconi (Georgia Tech), second-ranked Juricova, fourth-ranked Hilary Barte and eighth-ranked Allie Will (Florida). Gullickson is ranked 12th nationally, and her other two wins in the NCAA Tournament came over 21st-ranked Sanaz Marand (North Carolina) and 121st-ranked Martina Rubesova (Northwestern State).

“I still can’t believe it, when she hit that swinging volley in the net, I thought ‘oh, my gosh,’ this is really happening,” said Gullickson. “I have had a lot of ups and downs this season, but this is very exciting. The crowd was awesome. They got me super excited and pushed the nerves out. I thought my serves and return game were sharp, and I tried to play smart and stay positive throughout the match.

“I want to thank my coaches, Jeff (Wallace) and Frank (Polito) for doing an amazing job,” Gullickson added. “They gave me a lot of confidence. I went through some struggles during the regular season, and I think that made me stronger.”

Gullickson is the third Dawg in school history to win an NCAA singles title, joining Lisa Spain (1984 in Los Angeles) and Angela Lettiere (1994 in Athens). Former Dawg Shannan McCarthy was a finalist in 1992 in Palo Alto.

“It’s a great day to be a Dawg and congratulations go out to Chelsey,” said Georgia coach Jeff Wallace. “She had a great week and to do it at home, beating all the best players, that’s very exciting and we’re all very proud of her. It’s big for the school to have another national champion.”

A native of Palm Beah Gardens, Fla., Gullickson concludes the year with a 30-8 record while Juricova saw her 19-match winning streak end to finish 44-7.

This marks the seventh time in the 29-year history of the NCAA Women’s Singles Championship that a sophomore claimed the crown.

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Five Dawgs Named Pre-Season All Americans

FOOTBALL

Five Georgia football players have been named to Phil Steele’s 2010 preseason All-American teams while 14 have been named to the publication’s preseason All-Southeastern Conference squads.

Junior flanker A.J. Green (Summerville, S.C.) and junior punter Drew Butler (Duluth, Ga.) highlighted the list after being named First Team All-Americans.

Junior placekicker Blair Walsh (Boca Raton, Fla.) was named to the Second Team, senior offensive tackle Clint Boling (Alpharetta, Ga.) was included on the Third Team and junior kickoff returner Brandon Boykin (Fayetteville, Ga.) was placed on the Fourth Team.

The Dawgs also had six players named to the All-SEC First Team. In addition to Green, Boling, Boykin, Walsh and Butler, junior outside linebacker Justin Houston (Statesboro, Ga.) was also named to the First Team.

Junior linemen Ben Jones (center) (Centreville, Ala.) and Cordy Glenn (offensive guard) (Riverdale, Ga.) joined sophomore tailback Washaun Ealey (Stillmore, Ga.) on the Second Team.
Sophomore tight end Orson Charles (Tampa, Fla.), senior offensive guard Chris Davis (Jefferson, Ga.), junior inside linebacker Marcus Dowtin (Upper Marlboro, Md.) and Boykin, this time as a cornerback, were named to the Third Team.

Redshirt sophomore free safety Bacarri Rambo (Donalsonville, Ga.) was Georgia’s sole honoree on the Fourth Team.

Georgia is one of five teams with at least two players named preseason First Team All-Americans. Georgia and Alabama each have two players on the First Team and are the only two SEC teams with multiple players. North Carolina and UCLA lead the way with three players each on the First Team.

The Dawgs and the Tide also lead the conference with six players on the All-SEC First Team. Georgia and Florida top the league with 14 players listed on all four preseason All-SEC teams combined.

Phil Steele’s 2010 Preseason All-American Teams

First Team
WR – A.J. Green
P – Drew Butler

Second Team
K – Blair Walsh

Third Team
OT – Clint Boling

Fourth Team
KR – Brandon Boykin

Phil Steele’s 2010 Preseason All-SEC Teams

First Team
WR – A.J. Green
OT – Clint Boling
KR – Brandon Boykin
LB – Justin Houston
K – Blair Walsh
P – Drew Butler

Second Team
RB – Washaun Ealey
C – Ben Jones
OG – Cordy Glenn

Third Team

TE – Orson Charles
OG – Chris Davis
LB – Marcus Dowtin
CB – Brandon Boykin

Fourth Team
S – Bacarri Rambo

Friday, May 21, 2010

Walk-Ons Awarded Scholarships

University of Georgia walk-on snapper Ty Frix and cornerback Chad Gloer have been awarded scholarships by coach Mark Richt.

"Ty has done an outstanding job with all our snapping duties," said Richt. "He's been an instrumental part of one of the top punt and field goal/extra point teams in the country. Ty is well deserving and we're very pleased to award him the scholarship." Frix, a redshirt sophomore from Calhoun, is expected to start for the Dawgs for the second consecutive season in 2010.

A Biomedical Engineering major who was valedictorian at Calhoun High School, Frix snapped to two of the top special team performers in the nation last season in All-American punter and Ray Guy Award winner Drew Butler and All-SEC placekicker and Lou Groza Award finalist Blair Walsh. Frix is a second generation snapper for Georgia. His father, Dr. Mitch Frix , was the starting snapper for the Dawgs in 1981 and 1982 and was a member of three SEC championship teams, one national title team and three Sugar Bowl teams.

"Senior cornerback Chad Gloer of Fayetteville has been a real warrior for us on special teams and just a great member of our overall football team and family,” said Richt. “He’s earned a scholarship and I’m extremely proud for him.”

Gloer has been a special teams standout for the Bulldogs for the last three seasons. He tallied nine tackles in 10 games in 2009 after registering a season-high 10 tackles in 13 games in 2008.

Gloer, a member of the 2009 SEC Academic Honor Roll, was named the Most Improved Special Teams Player following the 2008 season after being honored as the Outstanding Defensive Walk-on at the end of the ’08 spring practice.

Starting with the Bulldogs’ 41-10 win over Hawai’i in the 2008 Sugar Bowl, Gloer has played in all of Georgia’s three consecutive bowl wins. Most recently, Gloer tallied a tackle during the Bulldogs’ 44-20 rout of Texas A&M at the 2009 Independence Bowl.

Thursday, May 20, 2010

Dawgs Land Mr. Basketball

Atlanta native Marcus Thornton, whose senior season at Westlake High School recently earned him the title of “Mr. Basketball” in his home state, has signed a financial aid agreement, and he plans to enroll at the University of Georgia and play next year for the Dawgs, head coach Mark Fox announced Wednesday.

Thornton, at 6-8 and 215 pounds, became one of the nation’s top high school power forwards during a senior year in which he averaged 23.5 points, 12.1 rebounds and four blocks per game. He originally signed last November with Clemson University but was granted a release from his letter-of-intent by the school in April.

Westlake went 30-3 during its most recent season and reached the Georgia state AAAAA championship game. It marked the Lions’ third Final Four berth during Thornton’s career there. After the 2010 season, the honors for Thornton began rolling in: “Mr. Basketball” by both the Atlanta Tipoff Club and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Parade Magazine All-America fourth team among them.

“We are delighted that Marcus has decided to join our program,” Fox said. “He is a terrific basketball player, a great student and an outstanding young man. He’s a winner in every way. He has a great family who now will be able to watch him play. Marcus was well coached in high school and is ready for the next step in his basketball career. It means a great deal to have Mr. Basketball coming to the University of Georgia for that next step. It’s also very exciting to us that Marcus wants to be a part of what we’re building Georgia.”

Thornton is ranked as the No. 121 overall prospect nationally, the 26th-best at the power forward position, by Rivals.com.

Thornton becomes the fourth signee of the Bulldogs’ 2010 recruiting class, the third from the spring signing period that ends today. He joins 6-8 forward Cady Lalanne of Orlando, Fla.; 6-9 forward Donte Williams of Ellenwood, Ga.; and 6-2 guard Sherrard Brantley of Dublin, Ga.

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Gray To Remain A Dawg

FOOTBALL

Junior quarterback Logan Gray will remain with the Dawgs after considering the option of transferring.

"I have decided to stay at the University of Georgia because I truly do love being a Georgia Bulldog," said Gray. "I want to be a part of this team getting back to the SEC Championship game and winning it. I'm also looking forward to getting some work at receiver and am going to work hard to make the best out of my opportunity at this position as well. I appreciate Coach (Mark) Richt's patience while I made this decision and his helpful advice. Now, I want to put all of this behind me and focus on getting to work on preparations for next season at UGA."

"I'm extremely pleased that Logan has decided to remain a Dawg" said Richt. "He's an outstanding player and a great person as well. We're fortunate to have him and he'll be an important part of our team over the next two years."

A native of Columbia, Mo., Gray is listed as second team quarterback in the post-spring depth chart.